Just a few random thoughts. I haven't been able to hear them yet because my Magnolia store's demo had the products out, but not connected and powered up yet. I'll return another time to listen.
- The Duo casing is kind of what I thought from the pictures. It's a major departure from the finish of other bookshelf's in the B&W line. My guess is that they went with a material that could radiate heat so that they could retain a moulded curve shape all the way around. Some active speakers like the LS50 wireless use a different back design to accomplish this (and some will outright use heat sink fins), likely figuring that the visual departure on that side won't really be seen in many customer setups. Because the casing material looks and feels far less luxe than the finishes on the 700 and 800 series, I couldn't help but feel like it's not a $4K per pair speaker. Obviously there are countless companies producing speakers at all kinds of price points, but at that level you do expect a certain fit and finish and B&W's own passive models feel a lot sexier than these do. Btw if you go for B&Ws own stands to pair them with, that's another $800 and if $4K all in felt like too much, nearly $5K absolutely does.
- Neither the Wedge nor the Duo have any inputs other than ethernet. Yes, they support various streaming services, are Roon Ready and include Bluetooth, so that's something. But if you want to connect a Sonbos zone or any other external source, you need to also buy the $700 streamer. That's big add on for the Duo and a cost prohibitive one for the Wedge. Note that the Soundbar does have an optical input, but not HDMI, which feels very last last gen. Even the streamer lacks HDMI.
- The Wedge is huge in person. I'm not sure where most people would put it if they didn't want it to stand out. The multi-facet front look is cool, which is helpful, because the size means it will never blend in.
- The sub is smaller than I expected. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised as I saw the 6.5" driver size listed in specs, but I did reflect on how it would be easier to hide in the size it is. Seems like a newer take on the design focused PV1.
- I don't think the Duo grill covers are removable and, if so, that's a shame. I personally am not a fan of the metallic colored driver cover. My favorite look of any B&W speakers is when the covers are off and you get that cool contrast of the driver color set against the exterior finish. Also, to me, the appearance of the metal cover also feels less luxe.
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